How often do your special interests change?

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GralienTourist
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17 Sep 2012, 11:56 pm

Do your special interests ever change? How long do they last? I'm really obsessed with my horoscope and cameras right now. Those have been for years. But I wasn't always,
used to be other things. Movies, metal music. These days I sort of want change, but I still can't break my current obsessions...



pairal
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18 Sep 2012, 4:38 am

My interests have lasted usually for many years. Last one began 4 years ago.


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CyborgUprising
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18 Sep 2012, 7:13 am

After 18 years, my interests have yet to change.



pat2rome
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18 Sep 2012, 9:07 am

My biggest interests (Pokémon, evolution, asteroids, college football, and music composition) have all lasted for several years. However, I think the music obsession will last for the rest of my life simply because I can actually do something with that interest other than just learn.


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idratherbeatree
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18 Sep 2012, 9:27 am

I seem to have primary and secondary interests.

My interest in psychiatry has been constant since I was a child.
My secondary interests (Video games, Music, Animals, etc) are all on and off things.
When active my secondary activities take over my primary focus but as a default whenever I have a moment I start thinking about some aspect of psychiatry. Or decide to read the DSM again....


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spaghedeity
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18 Sep 2012, 9:33 am

I love to learn - that has never and likely (hopefully?) will never change. I like taking apart or breaking down complex systems into simpler components, and fitting them together more efficiently.

The system I'm interested in at any given moment changes fairly often, though - aside from computers, I've probably had a dozen major interests, and hundreds of short term interests.

Not sure that answered your question at all =P


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OddDuckNash99
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18 Sep 2012, 9:44 am

I rarely acquire new special interests that are extremely strong. I tend to pick up new milder special interests every 1-3 years. Regardless, most of my special interests stay with me throughout my life. And all of my most intense special interests stay with me forever.


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chaines321
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18 Sep 2012, 9:36 pm

idratherbeatree wrote:
I seem to have primary and secondary interests.


I have that too. My secondary interests usually last about 2 to 4 years. The least is a little less than a year. I think the most is 4 years, but I can't remember.



Webalina
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18 Sep 2012, 11:24 pm

I too have primary and secondary interests.

My interest in films/movies has been with me most of my life. It has morphed from watching just any film however. It's now specialized and matured as I've matured. My devotion to owning purple everything has tempered a bit over the last couple of years, but it started in college back in the 80s.

And then there are interests that come along that I'm really intense about at first, then tend to fade over time. But I never seem to give them up completely, no matter how long ago I picked them up. And oftentimes, one will rear its head at me, and I get involved with it again. Genealogy is a good example -- I'll spend all kinds of time sorting through records and so forth for info on my family, then give it up and not touch it for months. But then something will trigger it again. Ditto occult studies such as tarot and astrology. I'll go through a phase where I'll be reading charts on everyone I know, doing numerous card readings for myself, etc. then losing interest, only to pick it up again months, maybe even years later.



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28 Nov 2012, 5:18 pm

I don't want my special interest to change. I'll stick with it, probably throughout my entire life. It has also lasted a long time. I'm not flexible at all. If I notice something that I can get interested in, I'll rather stick to my current obsession and mantain the same pattern and predictability. I see a red line between my interest today and my interest when I was a toddler. I don't want change, I hate it, intensely.



League_Girl
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28 Nov 2012, 5:27 pm

Every few months to a year. The longest lasted seven years. None of mine never lasted until adulthood like most aspies it seems like. I am still into ASDs from my teens.


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CockneyRebel
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28 Nov 2012, 5:46 pm

Mine changed every two years when I was younger. I have a feeling that I've stopped growing and changing, so I'll probably be a Kinks Fan well into my 90s. I'm trying to decipher whether it's a special interest or just my personality.


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28 Nov 2012, 6:04 pm

My special interests normally last long-term; geology continued from 7-16, Religion from 16-19, Menstruation from 19-current - they've been the major special interests, but lesser interests tend to span from a few months up to a year or two.


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28 Nov 2012, 6:17 pm

Some come and go, but others tend to stay with me, really.


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29 Nov 2012, 3:10 am

When I was a child, the duration of my special interests varied wildly, but by the time I was in my teens it settled into a pattern of changing ever 2 to 3 years, which is the way it has been ever since. One thing that more or less all of my special interests have had in common is that they all tend to revolve around fictional characters, who I prefer to think of as my imaginary friends.



Shellfish
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29 Nov 2012, 5:06 am

My son's go through cycles of usually 3-4 months and have always been 'character based, i.e the wiggles, then toy story, batman, Mr Men, sonic the hedgehog, pacman and now Super Mario Bros, on it's way out and being replaced by Donkey Kong - often he will exhaust the interest to death and then will lose all interest...I am assuming they will last longer as he ages.


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